South Jersey’s economy improved in 2018

The South Jersey economy has been struggling for years but a new report finds things are looking up.

The South Jersey Economic Review, released by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University, shows improvement in several key areas.

“We saw an increase of about 4,600 jobs, which translates into about 3.6 percent,” said Oliver Cooke, a Stockton professor of economics and editor of the Review.

“Most of the job gain, of course, was tied to the two new casinos that were opened, which added about 3,500 jobs or so to the local economy. But even outside of casinos, non-casino employment was up by about a thousand jobs or so and was relatively broadly based.”

The Ocean Resort Casino and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino opened in June.

“The gaming industry had a very good 2018 relative to where it’s been over the last decade. Gross gaming revenue was up about $200 million or so,” he said.

“A lot of that was tied to brick-and-mortars, about half of that gain. And then, of course, internet and sports betting added about $100 million or so.”

At the same time, he pointed out “the unemployment rate continued to fall as the labor force actually recorded its first annual gain in several years, and the housing market continued to see some improvements.”